Provides a description and analysis of certain proposals relating to individual saving -- including individual retirement arrangements ("IRAs"). The Senate Committee on Finance scheduled a public hearing on March 6, 1997, on tax incentives for saving. Part I of this report is a summary. Part II is a description of present law and legislative background. Part III describes the following proposals relating to saving: S. 2, S. 14, S. 197, and the President's Fiscal Year 1998 budget proposal. Part IV provides an economic analysis of IRAs generally. Part V discusses issues related to tax incentives for savings and IRAs.

The effect of the tax treatment of IRA/401(k)s on U.S. personal saving is examined using household survey data from the Survey of Consumer Finances. The results suggest that the tax treatment of IRA/401(k)s encouraged households to increase the share of assets held in the form of pension savings, at the expense of saving in the form of housing equity. Some evidence also was found to suggest that the tax treatment of pension savings similarly affected the flow of saving. In particular, the data appeared to reject the hypothesis that the tax treatment of IRA/401(k)s increased total personal saving.